S1E5 If you want to be a better cook, we have a free resource for you that is enriching, abundant, and may have been as-of-yet overlooked. Your public library is a wealth of information—sure, they have cook books, but you also may find magazines, historical cooking records, classes, and more! Mary Stein, Assistant Director of East Baton Rouge Parish Libraries (and irrepressible enthusiast for learning) bursts onto Smidgen to share the vast array of cooking tools that can be found at most every public library.  To put a finer point on things, you’ll hear Anne discuss one of her new favorite cook books, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. You’ll also hear about the balance between going by the book, and confidently freestyling it in the kitchen. A different spin on “cooking the books.” Cooking Segment: In the kitchen, Red Stick Spice Co. store staffer (and avid baker) Cameron takes the lead with (non-baker) Anne to prepare a sumptuous Salted Dark Chocolate Cake. In the headiness of the cacao swirling in the air, Anne forgets the salt and goes for fancy sprinkles instead. No matter—the cake is a dream.  Mentioned on the episode: RECIPE: Salted Dark Chocolate Cake Need some chocolate intensity in your life? This is the cake for you. We recommend the Cyprus Flake Salt for this cake (or we totally understand if you fall under the sway of delightful sprinkles as we did!) Get thee to your local public library to discover all the cooking resources available to you for free Listening locally? Any East Baton Rouge Parish Library can help you become a card holder Find Mary Stein on Twitter The book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is required reading; makes an excellent gift to someone setting up home or starting their own home cooking journey Use discount code SMIDGEN15 to save 15% your entire order at Red Stick Spice Co. Do you love your local library as much as we do? Please let us know on on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!  Listen to Smidgen Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app.  Smidgen is the podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.